In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in demand for mobile connectivity solutions utilizing various wireless components and wireless local area networks (WLANs). This generally involves the use of wireless access points (APs) that communicate with mobile devices using one or more RF channels.
In one class of wireless networking systems, relatively unintelligent access ports act as RF conduits for information that is passed to the network through a centralized intelligent switch, or “wireless switch,” that controls wireless network functions. In a typical WLAN setting, one or more wireless switches communicate via conventional networks with multiple access points that provide wireless links to mobile units operated by end users.
The wireless switch, then, typically acts as a logical “central point” for most wireless functionality. Consolidation of WLAN intelligence and functionality within a wireless switch provides many benefits, including centralized administration and simplified configuration of switches and access points.
A WLAN in a particular enterprise may include hundreds of APs and switches spread out geographically among a large number of sites, and it is often desirable to manage those APs centrally, through a network operations center (NOC). In this way, APs and other components may be reconfigured, upgraded, and otherwise modified remotely.
It is not unusual, however, for an AP or other device to be inadvertently misconfigured—e.g., due to the wrong software version, etc. Accordingly, an AP may receive a configuration request from the NOC, enact the configuration change, and then lose connectivity with the NOC (and/or with the network in general) because of misconfiguration. Since the misconfigured AP can no longer communicate with the NOC, the misconfiguration cannot be remedied remotely, and instead requires that local site personnel address the issue, which can be time consuming and costly.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved methods and systems for recovering from misconfiguration of APs and other networked components. Other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.